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MUNICH
(MÜNCHEN) - CITY TRANSPORT |
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Munich's public transport
system, an integrated network of
buses, trams and U-
and S-Bahn trains , is good,
though the fare and ticketing
system, despite attempts at
simplification, remains by far
the most complicated in Germany.
Prices vary according to
how many zones are crossed: the
city is divided up into a series
of concentric circles, clearly
displayed on the transport maps
at any station, tram or bus
stop.
Travel passes
If you are intending to stay
for a week or more, it may be
worth investing in a travel
pass , for which you'll
need your passport and two
photos. The most convenient
office for buying this is the
Hauptbahnhof's
Zeitkartenstelle (Mon-Fri
9am-6pm), located in the hall
opposite platforms 27-36.
There are several other
offices outside the
Poccistrasse U-Bahn station
(Mon-Fri 8am-6pm), and at the
Ostbahnhof and various other
S-Bahn stations. The cheapest
pass, covering the city centre
and most of Schwabing, costs
DM16.50/?8.25 for a week or
DM63/?31.50 for a month. For
the whole city, a weekly pass
is DM38.50/?19.25, its monthly
equivalent DM146/?73; the
charges rise to DM68.50/?34.25
and DM260/?130 respectively if
you also want to cover
neighbouring places on the
network, such as Dachau and
the Ammersee. Note that weekly
passes are only valid from one
Monday to the next, so buying
mid-week means losing out.
Similarly, monthly passes are
for calendar months only.
A worthwhile supplement to
a travel pass is the DM30/?15 Museum-Ticket
, which gives free access to
most of the city's museums and
monuments over a fourteen-day
period. This can be bought at
any of the participating
venues.
Tickets
Tickets for city transport are
available from ticket machines
in all U-Bahn stations, at
some bus and tram stops and
inside trams. If you're going
to be making several journeys
in the course of your stay
it's not worth buying single
tickets. Better value is a strip
ticket ( Streifenkarte
), costing DM16/8 for ten
strips. You stamp two strips
for every zone crossed except
for journeys of up to four bus
or tram stops or two S- or U-Bahn
stops, when only one has to be
cancelled. It's not necessary
to cancel every strip: only
the last needs to be punched.
A child's strip ticket costs
DM6.50/3.25 for five strips;
only one strip needs to be
cancelled per journey,
regardless of its length.
Various day tickets
are also available. The Single-Tageskarte
for individual travellers
costs DM9/4.50 for journeys
within Munich, or DM18/9 for
the city and S-Bahn region.
These charges rise to DM14/7
and DM28/14 respectively for
the Partner-Tageskarte
, which covers two adults and
up to three children (though
this limit is waived in the
case of verifiable offspring).
An enticing variant of this is
the München Welcome Card
, which can be purchased at
the tourist offices. In
addition to covering all
public transport costs within
Munich, this gives reductions
of up to fifty percent on the
entrance fees to the main
museums and monuments. The Single-Tageskarte
version of this costs DM12/6
for one day, DM29/14.50 for
three days, while the Partner-Tageskarte
is available, in the latter
version only, for DM42/21.
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